Cooking appliances, such as, e.g., cooktops or ranges (also known as hobs or stoves), generally include one or more heated portions for heating or cooking food items within a cooking utensil placed on the heated portion. The heated portions utilize one or more heating sources to output heat, which is transferred to the cooking utensil and thereby to any food item or items within the cooking utensil. Typically, a controller or other control mechanism, such as an electromechanical switch, regulates the heat output of the heating source selected by a user of the cooking appliance, e.g., by turning a knob or interacting with a touch-sensitive control panel. For example, the control mechanism may cycle the heating source between an activated or on state and a substantially deactivated or off state such that the average heat output of the heating source corresponds to the user-selected heat output level.
The control mechanism can utilize a temperature sensor to help control the heat output in order to regulate or otherwise limit the cooking utensil from reaching an undesired temperature level. The transfer of heat to the cooking utensil and/or food items may cause the food items or cooking utensil to overheat or otherwise cause unwanted and/or unsafe conditions on the cooktop. However, such temperature sensors may be ineffective at accurately measuring or estimating the temperature of the heating element or the cooking utensil placed thereon.
As a result, certain cooking appliances include a safety temperature switch the is placed in contact with or in close proximity to the drip pan to provide a more accurate temperature measurement and to turn off the heating element when an undesired temperature level is reached. However, such temperature switches are often not properly aligned with the surface of the drip pan, resulting in accurate or varying temperature measurements.
Accordingly, a cooktop appliance having a system for accurately detecting temperature conditions near a heat source would be desirable. More particularly, it may be desirable for a cooktop appliance to have a system that addresses one or more of the conditions discussed above.